DINING OUT

DINING OUT; Bit of an English Pub Flavor in Bethel

By PATRICIA BROOKS

Published: April 19, 1992

HAPPILY, not just bad pennies keep turning up; good ones occasionally do, too. Such is the case with MacKenzie's Old Ale House in Bethel. Earlier MacKenzie's were in Darien, Stamford and, briefly, in New Canaan. The current and only MacKenzie's enterprise is in a building formerly occupied by a French (La Plume) and then an Italian (Pappagallo) restaurant.

Fortunately, the premises -- an old frame house in Victorian Italianate style -- adapts well to the pub-like atmosphere of this MacKenzie's. Two small, dark dining rooms (with a third upstairs) and a taproom (with tables for dining) and an adjoining bar all have a cozy feel enhanced by dark green walls, wainscoting, pine floors, gilt-frame English engravings and old Colonial brass chandeliers. All that's needed is better background sound than the intrusively repetitive radio music that rattled on endlessly during our meals.

The otherwise high comfort level is enhanced by quick service and a lively menu that speaks of America here and now, with many snack items, and with a few echoes of English pub grub.

While there are such offerings as chili con queso, Jamaican chicken wings and baked brie en croute, many of the dishes, including starters, are robust affairs, suggesting that you arrive hungry. Running against today's nutritious eating tide, there are many hefty red-meat and deep-fried dishes on the menu, though it should be mentioned that there are also healthful pastas and salads.

But the dishes that attracted us most were the English-style meat pies. Maybe it's the Old Ale House in the name that made us gravitate to such pub fare. In any case, two of our favorite appetizers were the Cornish beef pasty (a well-seasoned melange of beef and peas tucked beneath a crisp, flaky, beautifully browned crust adorned with two mashed potato rosettes) and sausage and mushroom tart (another crusted triumph in a tangy Cheddar cheese sauce).

It is a tribute to the kitchen that all the tarts and pastries were so deftly made, and even the deep-fried items were not excessively battered or greasy. Bermuda onion rings were a pleasant surprise. Instead of the predictable rubber tires, the onions were in a crispy thin, almost wispy batter and served with an unusual, piquant dip made of Worchestershire sauce, red wine, beer and mustard. One evening's blackboard special, fried calamari, was also ingratiatingly light and grease free.

Cajun butterflies, another winsome starter, consisted of five jumbo shrimp, Cajun spiced and blackened, served with a dip of herbed lemon, shallots and butter.

English-style fish and chips consisted of two lightly fried sarcophaguses of scrod accompanied not by the usual English chips but by slices of baked, salted and garlicky potatoes that were tasty in themselves.

Ale batter shrimp were also lightly battered and sparked with a mandarin orange-ginger dipping sauce. The only disappointing entree was grilled tuna Francisco, a huge and overcooked steak, which was a ringer in color, texture, consistency and lack of taste for swordfish, not tuna.

There are a few desserts, the best of which were mocha pudding pie with a smooth texture and flavor that was enhanced by a smattering of chocolate chips, and a moist, nutty carrot cake. Cheesecake with graham cracker crust would be better if left alone; its sugary white frosting gilded a lily that was sweet and rich enough by itself.

A three-course dinner for two cost $49.50 before tax, tip or drinks. The wine list is tiny; a better choice with the hearty food served might be beer; the choices aren't extensive, but there are some good ones, both on draft and by bottle. MacKenzie's Old Ale House

Wheelchair accessibility: Ground-level access through the bar from parking lot in the rear.

Ratings: Poor Satisfactory Good Very Good Excellent Extraordinary

Ratings are based on the reviewer's reaction to food and price in relation to comparable establishments.

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